But recently they’d come close to losing Duke; he’d threatened to quit. Threatened, nothing. In a fit of righteous indignation, Duke had handed in his notice.
Christian had been at the heart of the trouble. His brother had grounded Duke for a single flight, and the pilot had been furious. To this day Sawyer didn’t know what had happened between them, but Christian had gone over to the bunkhouse and they’d somehow settled their differences.
Sawyer shuddered at the thought of Duke’s leaving. The fact was, he considered Duke his best pilot—certainly his most experienced. If anyone could get out of this alive, it was Duke Porter. But then, Sawyer was uncomfortably aware that these kinds of decisions often weren’t in a pilot’s hands.
More than ten years earlier Sawyer had gone down in a plane himself. He hadn’t been alone, either; he’d been with his father. Weather conditions had been bad, but better than they were now.
Unfortunately that hadn’t saved David O’Halloran. Before help could arrive, Sawyer’s father had died in his arms.
Memories of that day flooded his mind, charged his senses back to those last moments when he’d watched the life ebb out of his father. The pain returned, as fresh now as it had been that afternoon. Sawyer rubbed his eyes, wanting to stop thinking, stop feeling. Forget.
Inhaling sharply as he tried to push the memories aside, he ignored the pain. But the scene remained steadfastly in his mind. Again and again it flickered like an old silent movie, frame after frame. Impotent rage and defeat came at him like a fist in the dark.
“Sawyer.”
He gasped and whirled around to face his wife. His relief was instant. Abbey—his wife, his love, his salvation.
“Have you heard anything more?” she asked quietly. Her face was tight with worry.
“Nothing,” he told her.
Abbey walked to his side and slipped her arm around his shoulders. Sawyer welcomed her touch, needed her tenderness to help erase the memories. His fears for Duke and Tracy were overwhelming.
Sawyer placed his arm around Abbey’s thickening waist. Touching her gave him comfort no words could express. That she was pregnant with their child was a second miracle for a man who hadn’t expected the first.
She bent down and kissed the top of his head. “Everything will be fine.”
“I hope so,” he said. “From what I understand, the rescue team won’t be able to reach Duke and Tracy until the weather clears.”
“You mean they’ll be stuck out there?”
“It looks that way. We don’t have any choice.”
Abbey tensed. “Why?”
“The chopper can’t get to them in this storm.”
“Does anyone know if they’re hurt—or how badly?”
That was the question that plagued Sawyer the most. Surviving in the cold for any length of time was difficult enough, but with their injuries…“Tracy talked to the controller herself.”
“Tracy?”
He nodded, unsure how much to tell her. He didn’t want to alarm Abbey unnecessarily. “Duke appears to have sustained the worst of it,” he said finally. “Cuts, bruises, broken arm. But there’s also the possibility of internal injuries.”
She pressed her cheek to his. “There’s nothing you can do.”
“I know,” Sawyer murmured. He had a gut full of anger mingled with guilt—for what, he didn’t know. And fear. Yes. More than anything, fear.
It had been like this the day he’d lost his father, the day the light had gone out of his life. For years Sawyer had carried the guilt of that crash, although David had been piloting the plane. Afterward he was left to wonder if there’d been something, anything, he should have done, could have done, that might have spared his father’s life.
He hadn’t realized the extent of his emotional injuries until he’d met Abbey and married her. His wife’s love had been a gift, a healing balm that eased away the self-recrimination.
“Tracy and Duke together,” Abbey murmured. “Do you think they can last the night without killing each other?”
For the first time since he’d learned about the crash, Sawyer grinned. “You might have a point there.”
WHEN TRACY AWOKE it was dark. Her eyes fluttered open and she noticed that her head was propped against Duke’s shoulder. She felt warm and almost comfortable.
His good arm was around her.
“Duke?”
“So you’re awake.”
“You, too…I was so afraid. You passed out.”
“You afraid?” She could hear the smile in his voice. “I didn’t think you even knew the meaning of the word.”
He must be feeling better if he was up to teasing her. “If I didn’t know it before, I do now,” she admitted shakily.
Concerned that she was hurting him by leaning against him, she shifted and attempted to sit upright.
“Stay,” he said in a whisper.
Tracy wished she could see him properly. But if he was awake and not in obvious pain, that could only bode well.
“I’m not too heavy for you?”
“No.” His face was so close his breath stirred the hair at her temple.
“Do you need any more…aspirin?”
“No, thanks. Save them for later. I’m about as comfortable as I’m likely to get.”
Her arm rested against his middle, and her head remained on his shoulder. “It’s already dark. How long did I sleep? What time is it?” she asked.
“Three, maybe.”
“The helicopter won’t come for a while. I figured out how to work the radio.” She couldn’t help being proud of this. “Fairbanks seemed to think it would be six to twelve hours.”
“I guessed as much. We’ll be fine.”
“You blacked out on me. I got on the radio and—” To Tracy’s shock, her voice broke. She took a moment to compose herself, breathing deeply, but instead, her throat closed up and her eyes filled with tears.
“Tracy?”
She buried her face in his warmth and held back the emotion as long as she could. When it burst free, the sobs shook her entire body. “I thought you were dead! I didn’t know what to do…alone. I was afraid of being alone.”
His hand stroked her back. He murmured something, but so softly she couldn’t make out what it was. But his message was clear; he offered her solace and comfort.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered when the tears were spent. “I didn’t mean to…” Embarrassed now, she wiped the moisture from her face.
“I was afraid, too.”
“You?” Now that was something Tracy had trouble believing. The great Duke Porter. The man was fearless.
The wind howled outside the plane. From the side window, Tracy could tell that it had stopped snowing, but the sky was dark and ugly. She couldn’t see any stars. The only light in the plane came from the moon reflecting off the snow.
“You okay now?”
“Yeah.” But she wasn’t.
“I’ve got a candy bar in my jacket. Want some?” he asked.
Now that he mentioned it, she realized she was hungry. “Sure.”
In the dim moonlight, Duke retrieved the candy from inside his coat pocket and handed it to her. The chocolate bar was squashed and mangled.
“You might want to see if you can read the expiration date,” he suggested. “I have no idea how long I’ve been carrying it around.”
At this point Tracy was too hungry to care. She peeled back the wrapper and broke off the top square. She gave it to him, then took a piece for herself.
Generally Tracy avoided sweets, and it’d been years since she’d had a candy bar. Right now, she thought it was the best thing she’d ever tasted.
“You called me sweetheart,” she said, breaking off the next piece. Her fingers stilled abruptly. What had made her say that? She hesitated, wondering if he was going to pretend he hadn’t heard her, hoping he would.
“Don’t take it personally.” His voice had stiffened noticeably.
“I didn’t. We
were going down and I was panicking and you…you didn’t mean it. Besides, I wouldn’t want to upset your girlfriend in Fairbanks.”
She felt rather than saw his eyes bore into her.
Every time she opened her mouth, she seemed to drive her foot deeper into her throat. Whether he had a girlfriend in Fairbanks or anywhere else was none of her business.
“Forget I said that,” she said hurriedly. Her face burned. Duke was a virile attractive man; it was logical that he’d be involved with someone. She’d be surprised if he wasn’t.
“How’d you know about Laurie?” he asked, his voice cool.
“Uh…”
“Mariah.” He supplied the answer himself.
She didn’t bother to deny it.
A tense silence followed. “I haven’t seen Laurie in some time,” he told her.
Mortified beyond belief, Tracy felt it was important to clarify the situation. “I didn’t ask, really I didn’t. Mariah mentioned once—briefly, very briefly—that you had a friend you sometimes visited in town. She said it in passing.”
“But you remembered?”
Tracy shrugged. She had remembered. The information had stuck in her mind for weeks. She hadn’t questioned why. Now and again, she’d found herself wondering what kind of woman would interest a man like Duke. She’d wanted to think he was like other men she’d met who never looked beyond the size of a woman’s breasts. But she’d always known that wasn’t true of Duke. He might be a lot of things—a traditionalist, maybe even a chauvinist, a man who provoked her to anger—but he didn’t see a woman as just a body.
“You were right about Gavin,” she whispered. “He—he’s hoping to find his inner child.”
Duke laughed shortly.
Tracy found herself smiling.
“Laurie bored me.”
“Bored you?” Tracy wanted details. The happy way her heart reacted to his words didn’t bear considering.
“She agreed with me far too often,” he said.
“The poor dear must have wanted to keep the peace,” she teased.
Duke chuckled. “You, though—I could always count on you to challenge me.”
“That’s because you say the most outlandish things. Really, Duke, you’ve got to be more up-to-date.”
“Nah,” he returned. “And miss seeing your eyes spit fire at me? I’ve never known a woman who looks as pretty as you when she’s roaring mad.”
Pretty. It wasn’t a word men used when they talked about her. Smart, yes. Tough. Hardworking. A good attorney. But rarely did men view her as pretty.
Once again her throat tightened, and she struggled to hold back tears. She was lost somewhere in the Alaskan bush in a downed plane with an injured pilot beside her, and all she could think about was the fact that he thought she was pretty.
Chapter
4
AS NIGHT CLOSED IN around them, Duke began to wonder if he’d make it. At times the pain in his arm was almost more than he could bear.
Tracy shivered at his side, but at least they were together. For a while, they talked, telling each other all kinds of things. Private things. Duke found it was like talking to his oldest and dearest friend. Comfortable. Comforting. He knew he was rambling but it didn’t worry him, because he trusted her. He did worry about her bouts of shivering. As best they could, they conserved their body heat by cuddling together beneath the sleeping bag.
Duke’s feet were in bad shape. The cold pierced through him like swords thrust into his legs. He’d dozed off, but the pain didn’t let him sleep long. He’d lost feeling in his toes, which was, he supposed, a blessing of sorts. The relentless tingling sensation only added to his misery.
He was frightened for Tracy, who’d grown still and quiet.
“What if no one comes by morning?” she suddenly asked. It was the first time she’d spoken in at least an hour, he estimated. It was becoming more and more difficult to keep track of time.
“Don’t worry, help’ll be here soon.” He sounded more confident than he felt. Duke had flown into plenty of storms and was well aware of their hazards. The last time he’d checked on the emergency frequency, there hadn’t been any sign that the storm was breaking up. Apparently the cold front had moved directly over Fairbanks.
“Try to sleep,” he urged. He couldn’t sleep himself; the pain was too great to allow him the luxury of that escape.
Tracy rested her head against his shoulder, nestling into his warmth, sharing her own. A swell of tenderness washed over him. He was afraid of what would happen to her if he died.
Several minutes later, he gauged from the even measure of her breathing that she was asleep. If he was about to die, he decided, the time had come to think about his life—analyze his regrets. Somewhat to his surprise, he realized he didn’t have many. To his way of thinking, his sins had been few, his mistakes plenty. He wished his relationship with his mother was better. The fault, if there was one, lay with him. He hadn’t wanted to intrude on her life.
He’d never cheated anyone, rarely lied, and overall felt that he’d lived a good and decent life.
He wished he’d fathered a child. That came as a shock. A man didn’t often consider his mortality. He dismissed the regret, certain it had occurred to him because of everything happening in Hard Luck. Weddings…and now babies. Karen Caldwell and Abbey O’Halloran were pregnant, and last he’d heard, so was Bethany Harris.
He didn’t know what kind of father he’d be, but the thought of having a son or daughter appealed to him.
A house appeared in his mind—a house that didn’t exist. He’d always hoped to build his own home someday. He figured he’d live in Hard Luck, close to his friends, be part of the community. He was sorry he’d never have a chance to build that house—if he was to die.
Tracy stirred, and he studied her in what little light the moon afforded him. He’d been astounded by the way she’d handled this crisis. He probably shouldn’t have been, though; she was an incredible woman. Almost against his will, he found himself admiring her, grateful for her cool head and gentle touch.
One day Tracy Santiago would make some lucky son of a gun a great wife. She’d be a great mother, too; he felt it instinctively. He pressed a silent kiss to the top of her head, then closed his eyes. Yeah, she was one hell of a woman….
A whooshing sound disturbed him, and he made an effort to clear his mind. He must have slept. Night had become day.
The noise came again; it seemed to be some distance away.
“Duke, did you hear that?” Tracy lifted her head from his shoulder.
He opened his mouth to tell her he did, but couldn’t find the strength to speak. He was glad she didn’t seem to notice he was fading quickly.
“I need my suitcase!” she cried. “I know I promised not to get out of the plane, but I won’t go far.”
“No…”
“I’m going to get my red nightgown and climb onto the wing and wave it. Otherwise they might not see us in the snow. I’ll be careful,” she assured him, and then she did something totally unexpected.
She kissed him. Sweetly. Excitedly. On the lips.
“The helicopter’s almost here.” Her voice was giddy with relief.
Duke lacked the strength to tell her that the emergency locator beam would give the pilot their precise whereabouts. It was unnecessary for Tracy to climb onto the wing and signal. Even in his groggy state, he found the idea amusing.
The sound of the rescue chopper’s approach sharpened as the aircraft drew near. Duke closed his eyes and whispered a prayer of thanksgiving.
Sounds began to mingle in his ears. The chopper, men’s voices, Tracy’s excited cries. Then someone was at his side and he was being extracted from the aircraft.
“Please be careful,” Tracy shouted in the background. “Can’t you see he’s hurt?” Duke saw a flash of red and wondered if it was the nightgown she’d mentioned. Pity he’d never seen her in it.
Pain cut into his arm and he groaned as he was pl
aced on a narrow stretcher.
“Don’t touch his arm like that!” Tracy yelled. “What’s the matter with you people? Can’t you see he’s in pain?”
Duke closed his eyes. Minutes must have passed before he opened them again, because when he did, he realized he was in the chopper and they were airborne. An emergency medical technician was taking his vital signs.
Tracy sat on the other side and held his hand between both of hers. She didn’t look good, he thought. Dried blood matted her hair. The cut didn’t appear to be serious, but he saw a lump on her head; he hadn’t noticed it earlier.
Nor had he known how pale she was.
“Tracy.” Her name was all he could manage.
Her eyes brightened with tears and a few spilled over. “You’re going to be fine. We both are…. I don’t know if we could’ve lasted much longer.” She smeared the tears across her cheek, obviously embarrassed by them.
Although it required every bit of his strength, Duke brought her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles.
He was barely aware of what followed. The next thing he knew, he was being wheeled down a hospital corridor. He couldn’t remember landing or being taken from the rescue helicopter or driven in the ambulance. Nor did he know what had happened to Tracy. She’d been with him from the beginning of this ordeal, and he wanted her with him now. If he hadn’t been so weak, he would’ve asked.
He heard raised voices and recognized a few. Sawyer was there; so were John, Ralph and a couple of the other guys. They all seemed to be talking at once. He tried to sit up to tell his friends that it’d take more than a little crash in a snowstorm to kill him. Unfortunately he didn’t have enough energy to so much as move his head.
Where was Tracy?
“Tracy.” He called her name, but it came out as a whisper.
A man in a white coat leaned over him. “You’re asking about your friend?”
He nodded.
“You don’t have a thing to worry about. She’s fine—a few bruises, a couple of cuts, exposure. Dr. Davidson is examining her, but she’s giving him all kinds of trouble.” The physician grinned. “She’s worried about you. I told Davidson to tell her you’re going to be fine once we get that arm set. It’s a compound fracture, which makes it more complicated. We’ll be taking you into surgery within the hour. I’ve given you something for the pain, so you should be able to rest comfortably.”
Midnight Sons Volume 3 Page 20
